The Barclays Women’s Super League returned to South London as Crystal Palace hosted table-toppers Manchester City at Selhurst Park.
A strong display from the hosts saw Palace get the better of City in segments of the game, but nothing was stopping the clinical Cityzens from claiming victory in the capital. Goals from Jess Park, Jill Roord and Bunny Shaw were enough to see City solidify their spot at the top of the WSL table.
The Lineups
CRY: Yanez; Riley, Aspin, Woodham, Gibbons, Green, Potter, Cato, Hopcroft, Blanchard, Stengel
MCI: Keating; Casparij, Kennedy, Greenwood, Ouahabi; Hasegawa, Park, Roord, Hemp, Fujino, Shaw
The Action
The Cityzens looked to threaten early, as a sloppy back-pass landed at the feet of Khadija Shaw who tested Shae Yanez just seconds in. The Palace keeper did well to get down low and make the save to deny Manchester City of the early opener.
Laura Kaminski’s Palace side were well-disciplined in the early stages, working well to cage out the City advances whilst creating attacking momentum of their own. The Cityzens had a few early chances, but were unable to break down the cagey Eagles defence.
It would take a Jess Park wonder-strike to open the scoring, as the English midfielder tested her chances from a far distance. The strike would float at an agonisingly slow pace for the home fans, before nestling into the back of the net for the opener in the 40th minute of play.
Palace would feel hard done by after conceding, now chasing a deficit despite a spirited defensive showing.
The Cityzens looked to draw blood as soon as the first half commenced, with Aoba Fujino sent a precise cross into the area to be met by the head of Jill Roord. The Dutch midfielder made promising connection, but a nice save from Yanez saw her deny the strike on the goal line.
City would reap the rewards of their efforts just moments later, as a defensive disasterclass from Palace allowed Roord to have an unmarked shot off inside of the area to which she made no mistake slotting home the strike. Seven Palace defenders flooded the box, with no one able to pick up the goalscorer before City added a second.
Palace continued their search for a first as Ashleigh Weerdan sent a perfect ball through to an advancing Katie Stengel. The ball was able to catch out the centre-back pairing of Alanna Kennedy and Alex Greenwood, but not for long as the two City defenders tracked back well to deny Stengel.
The Eagles continued their fight, as Khiara Keating punched away a cross from Lily Woodham only as far as Annabel Blanchard, who fired her strike over the bar and into the stands.
Palace remained the better side for the next ten minutes, as Weerdan again orchestrated a positive attack down the left side. Locating Stengel with another promising ball, the striker rattled the post with her attempt before Blanchard was unable to make solid contact with the deflection.
City would put the game to bed in the 72nd minute, as Park sent a precise cross inside of the area. Shaw found herself with time and space, before firing a clinical header into the back of the net.
The trilogy of goals were enough for City to make their statement in England’s capital, securing their spot at the top of the WSL table.
